Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP)

It assists Black LGBT migrants with legal defense, education, and humanitarian aid. It advocates for liberal expansionist immigration policy, leniency in criminal justice policy, and left-of-center gender-based and race-related policies. ²

It received grants from left-wing groups and individuals such as the Trans Justice Funding Project,³ Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLM Global Network Foundation),⁴ Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (Astraea),⁵ and Mackenzie Scott. ⁶

Finances

Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project is fiscally sponsored by the Transgender Law Center. It does not disclose funding for its programs. ⁷

BLMP has received funding from Mackenzie Scott, ⁶ Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (Astraea), ⁵ and the Trans Justice Funding Project. ³

It received a grant worth over “six figures” from Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLM Global Network Foundation) in 2020. ⁴

Background and Leadership

Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) was founded by Ola Osaze and the Transgender Law Center with aid from a Soros Justice Fellowship in 2017. ⁸ BLMP assists Black LGBT migrants with legal defense, education, and humanitarian aid. It advocates for liberal expansionist immigration policy, leniency in criminal justice policy, and left-of-center gender-based and race-related policies. ⁹ It has over 200 members across three centers located in Oakland, Minneapolis, and Houston. ⁷

Ola Osaze

Osaze identifies as a queer and transgender Nigerian migrant and is the founder of BLMP. Osaze is deputy director at the Four Freedoms Fund and is the lead advisor for the Black Migrant Power Fund. Osaze advocates for left-wing causes such as abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), defunding the police, promoting LGBT groups, and the #EndSARS campaign. Osaze previously worked with groups such as the Transgender Law Center, the Audre Lorde Project (ALP), Uhuru Wazobia, Queers for Economic Justice, and Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP). Osaze was granted asylum in the U.S. due to threats against LGBT people in Nigeria. ¹⁰

Oluchi Omeoga

Omeoga is a transgender activist and the director of BLMP. Omeoga is also co-founder and spokesperson for Black Visions Collective, a radical-left group aiming to defund the Minneapolis city police. Black Visions members have engaged in clashes with the police, which attracted national attention and donations in 2020. ¹¹

Omeoga is a major advocate for identity politics, having argued at a Harvard Kennedy School event in 2021, “We actually have to center those most at the margins. It’s not rocket science to know that a Black woman both faces racism and sexism, and then we take a look at trans folks, that transphobia is also included as well.” ¹²

Programs

Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project has six programs organizing the group’s work: Deportation Defense, Malaika Network, Garifuna Organizing, Fierce Freedom School (FFS), Regional and National Membership, and Border Butterfly Project. ⁷

Deportation Defense

Deportation Defense offers help to Black LGBT detainees and supports them after release. Support networks are organized on the community level. ⁷

Malaika Network

Through Malaika Network, BLMP members are trained to become activists in BLMP’s Deportation Defense program. It develops strategies and advocates shutting down migrant detention centers. ⁷

Garifuna Organizing

Garifuna Organizing is a committee of Black queer and trans Garifuna migrants working to establish local connections to provide housing for migrants. ⁷

Fierce Freedom School (FFS)

Fierce Freedom School is an annually held, two-month long study program for Black trans women. It offers political education, skills building, and leadership development. It is held in collaboration with Black Trans Circles (BTC), another Transgender Law Center-sponsored group. ⁷

Regional & National Membership

Through its Regional and National Membership, BLMP aims to engage with new members, mobilize for campaigns, and expand into more regions. ⁷

Border Butterfly Project

Border Butterfly Project is a collaboration between BLMP, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, the Transgender Law Center, and other U.S. and Mexican groups. It aims to protect LGBT asylum seekers through legal, humanitarian, and post-detention support. ¹³

Collaborations

Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project has collaborated with Black Lives Matter (BLM) aligned individuals and groups, including fashion designers and artists. ⁷

BLMP was endorsed by Virgil Abloh, the founder of streetwear fashion label Off-White and former head of Louis Vuitton menswear. Off-White launched the “I Support All Forms of Love” collection in 2021, with 100% of the proceedings going to BLMP. ¹⁴

BLMP was endorsed by left-wing activist tap dance group Dorrance Dance, which promulgates the left-wing concept of anti-racism. Dorrance Dance has included BLMP on its website’s “anti-racism” donation list, which also includes far-left groups such as Reclaim the Block, the Center for Racial Justice in Education, and Transgender District. ¹⁵